As An Eagle
Years ago, I read a story about a farmer, who found an eagle’s egg and took it home with him. He placed the eagle egg in a hen's nest to be hatched along with her eggs. There were several little chicks and one awkward looking bird. The mother hen treated the little eagle just as she did her own chicks. The eagle thought that he was a chick and scratched the ground as the little chicks did. Day by day, he grew larger and larger and it was obvious that he was not like the others. All he knew about life was the barnyard. One day, an adult eagle flew over the barnyard and his keen eye saw the young eagle on the ground. He gave out a loud screech to the young eagle and immediately, the young eagle responded. At that moment, he instinctively knew that he was an eagle. He lifted his wings and with one leap, he soared into the heavens. He forever left life in the barnyard.
In Deutoronomy 32:11, God likens Himself to a mother eagle who cares for her young. The young eagles are likened to His people. (believers) When the eaglets reach the age that they need to fly and leave the nest, the mother "stirs up her nest" by pulling out all the soft feathers and leaves with which she has lined the nest. Underneath are thorns, once the softness is removed, the young eagles settle down on the thorns. Being uncomfortable, they move out of the nest onto the ledge of the rock upon which the nest is built. The mother eagle spreads her great wings and the eaglets get onto her back. As the eaglets clutches her feathers, she soars upward into the sky. When she reaches a certain height, she turns over and the eaglets begin to plunge toward the ground. She is teaching them to fly and as they fall toward the ground, she watches to see if they can fly. Before they reach a place of danger, she swoops under them with her massive wings and catches them. This process is continued until the young eaglets learn to fly.
The message that God is communicating to Israel through Moses is that He, as the mother eagle, had allowed the Egyptians to afflict the Israelites that they become willing to leave Egypt. Had God not allowed Israel to be afflicted by the Egyptians, they would have remained in Egypt. They had the best of the land in Egypt for grazing and were comfortable in their lifestyle. Since God had promised to Abraham and his seed that the land of Palestine was given to them, it was God’s will that they return and possess it. God called it a land flowing with milk and honey. "For the flesh pots of Egypt," they were willing to forfeit God’s promise and inheritance.
Many of God’s people have been like the Israelites, they have reached a place of comfort and contentment. They are willing to live by the "flesh pots of the world." rather than receive the fullness of God. By doing so, they forfeit the best that God has for them. Sometimes, we are willing to accept less than what God has provided for us in Christ. In fact, I doubt, if any of us have ever lived to the fullness that God offers us. We live far below our privileges in God. Like the young eaglet in the barnyard, we are willing to live confined to earthly things around us when we could be like the eagle soaring in God’s liberty and freedom.
In Ephesians 2:6, Paul said, "that God has raised up together with Christ and made us sit together with Him in heavenly places." It is our privilege and heritage to sit with Christ in this place of victory. Too many of us are looking toward eternity before we can sit with Christ. It is a present privilege granted to us by God to sit with Him while we live in this world. Why live in the barnyard when God has provided a place in Christ of complete victory, joy and peace.
Maybe you are presently going through trials and hard times in your life. You may not understand why God is allowing this to happen. However, God maybe, like the mother eagle, stirring up your nest to move you closer to Him. It is only as we follow Him that we can receive the best. Israel could have never received what God had for them had they not been willing to follow Him. God is always working for our good, whether it be physically, financially or spiritually. We may not perceive His design for our life, but our trust in Him allows Him to fulfill it.
In Isaiah 40:31, God said through the prophet, " they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;, they shall mount up with wings as an eagle: they shall run and not be weary, they walk and not faint." God has promised that regardless of our situation or circumstances, we shall not faint or be overcome with weariness. In Isaiah 49:15 & 16, God said, " can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee." In Psalm 121:3, " He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel (us) shall neither slumber nor sleep." It is our prayer that God will keep all of His children until the day of the appearing of His Son, Jesus Christ. May God bless.
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